A health worker gives a polio vaccine to a child in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Photograph: Mohammad Sajjad/AP

Hundreds of parents in north-west Pakistan have been arrested and jailed after refusing to give their children polio vaccinations, according to officials.

Feroz Shah, a spokesman for the district administration in Peshawar, said 471 people had been imprisoned in the city and surrounding villages under government orders on charges of endangering public security.

Parents targeted by police were not arrested if they agreed to vaccinate their children, said Shakirullah Khan, a senior police officer in Peshawar.

Authorities have previously made scattered arrests for polio refusals, but such a widespread crackdown is rare.

“This is the first time such drastic action was taken,” Shah said. “This shows the determination of the government to eradicate polio.”

Pakistan is one of three countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio is endemic, and the country last year accounted for the vast majority of reported cases.

The disease has been common since the Taliban banned vaccinations and attacked medical workers. Some Pakistanis are suspicious about vaccinations, fearing they will sterilise their children.

In January, officials targeted around 35 million children in a nationwide campaign, while smaller vaccination drives are held more frequently. Officials have also implemented new security strategies to help protect vaccinators.